Ore-concentrator



l. F. KELLOGG.'

ORE CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION man MAR. 13. |918.

1,314,335. tend Aug. 26, 1919.

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Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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JOHN F. KELLOGG, 0F GUTHRIE, OKLAHOMA.

ORE-CONCENTRATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aue. 26, 1919.

Application led March 13, 1918. Serial No. 222,186.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN F. KELLOGG, a citizen of the United States, residine` at Guthrie, in the county of Logan and btate of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore-Concentrators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ore eoncentrators and while primarily designed for use in the separation of ores containing lead and zine, the concentrator may be employed also in the separation of gold bearing ores.

It is one aim of the present invention to provide an ore concentrator which will, in operation, permit of the recovery of a maximum percent oi' the valuable mineral content of the Ore and to provide means whereby the separator may be adjusted so that a negligible quantity only of valuable minerals will be lost in the chats and consequently so that the valuable portion oi' the ore separated will be of maximum richness in its mineral content.

Another` aim of the invention is to provide an ore concentrator so constructed that the same will require little attention in its operation and will be continuons in it operation, the valuable portion of the ore being separated and continuously carried ott through one outlet and the chats being permitted to escape through a separate outlet.

Another aim oi' the invention is to provide an ore coneentrator which will be of maximum efficiency in its operation whether the same be employed in treating the ores in a dry state or mixed with water, the concentrator being therefore adapted for use under practically all conditions and not depending for its successful operation upon the presence of water in the vicinity in which it is operated.

The invention also has as its object to provide a eoncentrator, which by a slight modification in its structure, may be adapted for the separation of gold bearing ores instead of lead and zinc ores.

The invention also has as its object to so construct the concentrator that the same may be employed when mining for placer gold in which event the eoncentrator will be adapted to not `only separate the (fold but also to separate the so called black or steel sand which in itself has a certain value because of its mineral content.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a vertical transverse sectional View through the concentrator embodying the present invention constructed and arranged or use in the separation o'lE lead and Zinc ores;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the concentrator;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the concentrator, the feed pipe being shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the mechanism provided for imparting panning motion to the pan supporting bed of the concentrator;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view illustrating the `pan of the concentrator and a modilied form of distributor head designed for use in connection with the pan in the separation of gold bearing ores;

F ie. 6 is a top plan View of a portion of the distributor head shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

The eoncentrator embodying the present invention consists, briefly stated, ot' a bed to which a panningl motion is imparted, a concentrating pan supported upon the bed, a distributing head arranged above the pan and designed to supply the crushed ore to the pan, evenly distributed, and an adjustable gate designed to control the discharge of the separated valuable mineral content of the ore from the pan. The elements above mentioned are mounted in a suitable framework of open construction which framework may be built of angle iron or any other suitable material and which is indicated in general by the nume al 1. Suspended within the framework 1 from each upper corner thereof for free oscillatory motion is a rod 2 and these rods at their lower ends are loosely connected as at 3 with the lower ends of legs 4 which are secured to the under side of the pan bed and are braced by means of braces 5 also secured to the said under side of the bed. The pan supporting bed is indicated in general by the immoral G and the same comprises a shallow inverted conical body provided centrally with a relatively large opening 7 and at its periphery with an upstanding flangeS, At this point it will be understood that the pan supporting bed 6 is supported by the rods 2 in a manner to permit of `its oscillation and in order that a panning motion may be imparted to the said bed, means is provided which will now be described. The numeral 9 indicates a shaft which is rotatably mounted in=suitable bearings 10 upon a supporting frame structure 11 mounted within the frame 1, and this shaft carries bevel gears'12 whichmesh with similar gears 13 at the lower ends yof shafts 14 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings at opposite sides of the vertical axis of the pan supporting bed 6. The shafts 14 at their upper ends carryv crank disksl having upwardly projecting crank pins 16 which work in bearings 117 mountedy uporr aidepending-Hangs 18 carried by the-bed6 and: surrounding the opening 7. Power is applied to the shaft 9 in any suitable manner and through rotation of this shaft, .an oscillatory motion is imparted to the pan supporting bed ina manner closely resembling'the motion which a miner will give to his pan in washing for gold. It will?v be understood, however, that `various types of mechanism could be provide`d forimparting such motion to the said' bed 6 and that, therefore, 'I am not to belimited to the use ofthe specific means herein shown and described.

'Ihe concentrating `an of thel apparatus is indicated in general y the numeral 1:9 and `thesaid` an is of shallow inverted conical form andp is provided at its peripheryl with an upstanding flange or rim120.. Thepan is disposed upon' the bed 6 with its rim l20y seating within the flange 8 of the said bed, and' at its' central portion the panv is formed with a discharge opening21 and surrounding this opening isa depending discharge spout portion 22 which'is preferably cylindrical and from which leads adischarge pipe 23. The bottom of the spoutportion 22 is ,closed except for av threaded opening 24 into which is threaded one end. ofl aidischargevpipe 25 which end of the pipeex.- tends upwardly within the said spout 22 in the manner clearly shown in Fig. ,1- offlthe drawings. The lower end-cof' the p ipje 25 leads downwardly and Amay discharge at any convenient point. As will? be presently explained, the valuable mineral content-of the ore is to be discharged through the opening 21 andl into thespout 22 andL finally through the pipe 23 whereas the chats are tov be delivered from the concentrator through the ipe 25.

As hereto -ore stated a gate is yprovided for controlling the discharge ofthe valuable mineral content of the ore from the concentrator andthis gate, which is indicated in general in the drawings by the numeral 26, comprises a tubular neck 27 'which is fitted forvertical sliding adjustment in the upper end of the pipe 25 andwhich. is provided at its upper end with a head 28. The head128 surrounds the said upper end ofthe tubular neck 27 and is of shallow conical form and the outer edge or periphery of this' head is designed, inthe vertical adjustment ofthe neck 27, to be positioned a greater or less distance above the upper or concave surface of the concentrating pan 19. In order that the gate 26 may be adjusted in the manner and for the purpose stated, a stem 29 is ixed at its upper end within the neck 27 and extends downwardly through the upper end of the pipe 25 and iits slidably through a suitab-le stufing box 30 formed in the end of' the pipe. The lower end of the stem 29 is pivotally connected as at 31 with an adjustin lever 32 which at one end is connecteY to a link 33 preferably extending downwardly from the ange 18, and the other end of the said lever is pivoted to the lower end of a threaded stem 33 which may be adjusted vertically by the rotation of a hand wheel 34 to raise and lower the lever 32 about its pivot so as to adjust the said gate 26.

In order that the crushed ore maybe fed to the concentrating pan in anl evenly distributed manner, there is provided a distributer head which is indicated in general by the numeral 38 and this head is.- of shallow' conical form and is supported in any suitable manner immediately abo-ve thepan 19, as for example by means ofsuitable brackets 39 depending from the lower end of afeed pipe 40 through which the crushedore is delivered on-to the sa-idv head 38 at the apex thereof. The head 38 is of less diameter than the pan. 19 and is positioned substantially concentric with relation to the said pan.

Asv concerns the form of concentrator above described, the operation thereof is Vas follows: The crushed ore is delivered through .the feed pipe 40 ontol theI apex ofthe'distributer head 38 and will iiow or slide down lthevsloping surface of this head and will pass over the edge 'or rim thereof and-thus reachl the upper surface of the concentrating pan 19 substantially at theouter periphery ofthe said pan. In the meantime themeans provided for imparting panning motion to the pan supporting bed has, of course, been set in operation and` therefore due to the peculiar motion. given the pan, the crushed ore' will gradually flow down the surface of the pan toward the central portion thereof. During this operation the heavier particles which, of course, are the particles bearing the lead and Zinc content of the ore, will not settle until they form a bottom stratum resting directly upon the surface of the concentrating pan, the chats, heilig lighter, forming an upper stratum as will be readily understood. The gate 26 having been properly4 adj usted, the valuable mineral lparticles which have settled by gravity will pass-beneath the edge of the gate, or in otherwords, through` the space between this edge and the upper surface of the concentrating pan and Y will 'finally pass throughi the openingl 21, into the spout 22 an-dtout'l through the pipe 23 into any suitable receptacle or pile. On the other hand the chats or lighter particles will gradually rise along the upwardly sloping surface of the head 28 of the gate 26 and will finally pass downwardly through the neck 27l and out through the pipe 25. It will now be understood that should the ore be very rich in its lead or Zinc content, the stratum consisting of this content will be considerably thicker or deeper than if the ore is relatively poor in its mineral content and therefore in the former instance the le- .ver 32 would be manipulated so as to elevate the gate 2G to position the edge of the head 2S a suitable distance above the surface of the pan 19 to permit of the freer passage of particles beneath the head or past the gate, and in the latter instance the lever would be manipulated to lower the gate 26 so as to permit the passage only of the relatively thin or shallow stratum of valuable mineral particles. Thus having ascertained in the first instance approximately the percentage of valuable metal contained in the ore, the lever 32 may be adjusted so as to permit of the passage past the gate 26, of only that portion of the bulk of the crushed ore which consists of the metal bearing particles and therefore practically the entire valuable mineral content of the ore may be recovered and there will be a minimum waste discharged'with the chats. W'hile the embodiment of the invention above described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, is especially designed for use in the separation vof lead and zinc bearing ores, nevertheless it may be successfully employed in the separation of ores bearing other heavy metals. Where, however, gold bearing ore is to be treated, I prefer to employ the form of distributing head clearly shown in Figs. 5 and G of the drawings and which head will now be described.

The distributing head shown in the said figures is indicated in general by the numeral 41 and the said head while substantially of shallow conical form, nevertheless has its upper surface formed with a series of successively. elevated annular step portions 42` these portions being concentrically arranged as will be apparent by reference to Fig. G of the drawings. A shallow riffie 43 projects upwardly from the outer edge of each portion 42 and extends continuously around the same and in each portion 42 there is formed an annular series of pockets 44 which pockets are of inverted conical form and of a suitable depth determined best by experiment. The apex of the distributing head is substantially circular and flat as indicated by the numeral 45 and is formed centrally with a relatively large pocket 46 of the same general shape, however, as the pockets 44, and surrounding this apex is a shallow riffle 47. Whereas in the instance of the distributer head described in connection with the'concentrator as adapted for use in the separation of lead and zinc ores, the said head is relatively fixed and conse quently is not subjected to the saine motion as the pan supporting bed, in the instance of the distributor head just described above, the same is either fixedly supported upon the pan supporting bed or upon the pan itself so that when the panning mot-ion is imparted to the bed, the distributing head will lil e`- wise be given such motion. It will now he understood in connection with this embodiment of theA invention that as the crushed ore is deposited onto the head at the apex 45 thereof, it will gradually flow over the riffle 47 and the riflles 43 descending along the series of stepped portions 42 and passing over the pockets 44. In this operation the heavier gold bearing particles will settle upon the stepped portions 42 and the major portion thereof will be collected in the pockets 44, and some in the pocket 46 so that the material finally discharged over the outer edge of the distributing head and onto the concentrating pan will contain little if any gold. I/Vhere this embodiment of the invention is employed in placer gold mining, the concentrating pan and gate heretofore described will prove highly efficient in separating the so called black or steel sand which is heavier, of course, than the dirt or chats of the ore. This sand could after collection, be again treated for the purpose of recovering therefrom new gold or platinum contents. Also this embodiment of the invention may be employed eifectually in the vicinity of quartz mills, the distributing head serving to recover the free gold, and

the concentrating pan and gate constituting a means for recovering the remaining gold content of the quartz which would be subsequently treated to a cyaniding process.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In an ore coneentrator, a concentrating pan, means for imparting panning motion thereto, the said pan having a concave upper surface and being formed at the low point in its surface with a discharge opening, a discharge pipe extending up through the opening and having an open upper end, and a gate surrounding the upper end of the said pipe extending laterally therefrom and having its outer edge spaced above the said surface of the pan and surrounding the opening therein.

2. In an ore coneentrator, a concentrating pan having a discharge opening, a gate consisting of a plate disposed above and across the opening with its outer edge spaced above the surface of the pan and surrounding the opening, and means for vertically adjusting the said gate concentrically with the discharge opening in the pan.

3. In an ore concentrator, a concentrating pan, means for imparting panning motion thereto, the said pan having .ay concave upper surface andbeingfornied at thelow point in its `surface with a discharge opening,.a discharge pipe extending up through the opening andA having an open upper end, a gate surrounding the upper end ofthe said pipe and having its outer edge spaced :above the said lsurface of the pan andy surrounding the opening inthe pan, `and means .for adjusting the said gate Wherebyto vary the distance.t between the saidedge of the gate and the said surface of the pan.

4. In an oreconcentrator, a concentrating pan, means for imparting panning motion thereto, the said pan being provided Withv a discharge opening, a shallow conicalgate arranged above the said opening With its outer edge spaced above the surface of the pan` and surrounding the said opening, the gate being provided With a discharge opening through itsl apex, and means for adjusting saids gate vertically concentric with the discharge opening in the pan.

5. In an ore concentrator, a concentrating pan, means for imparting panning motion thereto, the said pan being provided With a discharge opening, va shallow7 conical gate arranged above the said opening With its outer edgespaced above the surface of the pan and surrounding the said opening, a discharge opening being fornied'through the kapex of the gate, and. means extending through the discharge opening in the pan for adjusting the gate-to vary thedistance between its said edgel and the said surface of the pan.

6. In an ore concentrator, adistributing head of approximate conical form and having a series of concentric relatively stepped surfaces andan upstanding rifle at the outer inargin of each surface, the stepped surfaces ofthe distributing head being each formed with an annular series'of pockets.

7. In an' ore concentrator, a concentrating pan having a continuous concave upper surface and formed at its lovvestfpoint with a constantly open outlet, means for imparting panning motion to the pan, means for sup- Vplying material to the pan at the outer portion thereof,7 a discharge pipe extending up into the outlet in the pan and spaced from the Walls of the same, the upper end of the pipezextending above the saidl lower portion of thepan and being constantly open, and a shallow conical gate carried by and surrounding the open upper end ofthe said discharge pipe and having its outer periphery spaced above the said upper surface of the pan and surroundingthe outlet inthe pan.

In testinioiiywhereof I afIix my signature.

JOHN F. KELLOGG. lL. s.] Witnesses:

N. C; ORR, Gr. C. STARK.

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